Weight of tile in a bathroom, Cover all surfaces in tile?

Submitted by Emerald_Yautja t3_yffq6o in DIY

Should I worry about the weight of tile (plus thinset and grout) in my bathrooom?

Main floor bathroom, full basement below. I plan to cover most surfaces, including the ceiling with porcelain tile. The floor will be 1x1 porcelain mosaic tile.

The bathroom is about 11ft long by 5ft wide, by 8 ft high. There is a full height shelf that is going to be tile inside and out, as well as a 5 foot wide vanity tile inside and out.

A 5ft wall of the bathroom is an outside wall, the rest are interior walls. The house was made in the late 1970s. The joists below are not cut or damaged. This is in Manitoba.

I have seen others ask this and are generally told not to worry, but no one is a weirdo like me who wants to tile quite as extensively.

TL;DR I wanted to make a Roman Bath House looking bathroom and I have started putting tile up and am now worried about the weight. Thank you for reading this.

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dominus_aranearum t1_iu3haue wrote

The only things you need to worry about are that you're using the proper backer, mortar and waterproofing and that your ceiling can handle the additional weight.

My biggest concern, other than the weight of the tile/mortar/backer on the ceiling would be an improperly attached tile falling and injuring someone or damaging something. Proper prep work and materials are very important.

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Emerald_Yautja OP t1_iu3t6sd wrote

>I have already done the ceiling. The tiles have been up there for about a month. I used Schluter All Set in the shower area, and I used a polymer modified thinset for the rest of the ceiling. I did my best to mix it well and I buttered and trowelled both the ceiling and the tiles. I used cement board for the majority of the ceiling and Kerdi on the ceiling of the shower (I had Kerdi left over from the walls). I didn't do anything specific for a ceiling.
>
>Should I be worried they may come down while using the shower? Any way to test it?

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dominus_aranearum t1_iu6acb3 wrote

Realistically, if you followed instructions and used appropriate backing and screw pattern for the ceiling cement board, you're probably fine. But if you affixed the cement board to your 24" on center trusses or 16" on center floor joists, the cement board doesn't have enough support. Probably needs 12" on center and blocking at any seams.

Also, did you install the cement board over drywall? Or directly to wood framing?

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[deleted] t1_iu3hu2g wrote

Tiles on the floor and walls shouldn't be a problem unless your added a 2nd or 3th layer of tile.

Weight of a bath full of water will be a bigger issue.

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koozy407 t1_iu3o15m wrote

Attaching porcelain to a ceiling is hard and dangerous (could fall on someone if not attached properly). Not impossible but definitely something you want to do tons of research on and possibly hire a pro.

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Emerald_Yautja OP t1_iu3t0gd wrote

I have already done the ceiling. The tiles have been up there for about a month. I used Schluter All Set in the shower area, and I used a polymer modified thinset for the rest of the ceiling. I did my best to mix it well and I buttered and trowelled both the ceiling and the tiles. I didn't do anything specific for a ceiling.

Should I be worried they may come down while using the shower? Any way to test it?

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koozy407 t1_iu3t736 wrote

Nah, just watch for cracks in grout and every now and then give them a tap and look for hollow sounds.

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Kinggambit90 t1_iu3xuo9 wrote

You should be fine if it's been up for a month. My bathroom has ceiling tiles and not one has fallen and I believe it's 30 years old. I'm also a weirdo like you and tiled my other bathroom ceiling, but it's so fun to look at that I didn't mind the added cost.

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plenar10 t1_iu4k7kq wrote

Google says residential joists are designed to hold 40-50 lb per sq ft. I think that's mostly in one direction, parallel to the joists, and some perpendicular distribution as well. A cubic foot of water weighs 63 lbs. You can do your own math.

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MarvinHeemyerlives t1_iu57qfk wrote

To be safe, just scab another floor joist onto every other one beneath your bathroom floor. It's definitely overkill but not that big of a deal, usually.

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